3 Steps to Success
by DevlynDoe
Summary: Guilt. A feeling that eats up your insides. What will our favorite cook do when he does something terrible to one of the swordsman's most prized possessions. Fix it is what! But what are the consequences that come with doing this kind act? R&R
1. Chapter 1: Broken

**Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, all rights reserved to their proper owners.**

Midnight: You guys are probably wondering why I put another chapter up for this already finished one-shot. The answer to that is that I wasn't too pleased with this story and I've been thinking up an alternative storyline and I think it's ready now, sorry it's not the update to the other story you guys!

**Special thanks to koyuki hazuki cruel swordsgirl for making me notice that I did make Zoro die too easily, thank you for getting me to write another version I am more pleased with :)**

Enjoy~

"speech"

/thoughts/

**Warning: This also takes place after Robin and who knows this time there may or may not be character death *evil smile***

(Edit: From the warning up is a little out of date so sorry if anything's wrong and yeah it is another chapter but I put it up as its own story)

OlOlOlOlOlOlOlOlO

Alternative Chapter

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It was Christmas morning and all the Straw Hats were eating breakfast with no major problems from the ship's rivals.

/If they keep this up I might just get rid of their debt/ thought Nami eating her egg, enjoying the peaceful (or as peaceful as it can get) Straw Hat breakfast.

"Marimo-bastard! How dare you fall asleep on _my _kitchen floor!" exclaimed Sanji, who had just saved himself from dropping the four trays of food on his arms.

A snore

/No wonder/ thought Nami /he was asleep/ she dropped her fork into her plate, deliberately, and started heading towards the to-be-scene ever so slowly, with her 'scary Nami' look, as named by Usopp and Chopper. /And here's where I thought we could have a moderately peaceful breakfast/

"Wake up!" shouted Sanji, aiming a kick to the top of Zoro's head.

His foot was grabbed before it could hit its target by the swordsman's hand.

"Oi, Oi, Shitty cook, what the hell is your problem?" asked Zoro letting go of Sanji foot and getting up, a hand on his swords.

"My _problem _is that I almost tripped over your legs while I was trying to bring more food to Nami-swan and Robin-chan" said Sanji placing all four trays on the nearby counter

"Then you should be more careful" said Zoro

"I wouldn't have to be more careful if you'd stop sleeping wherever the hell you want!"

"And I wouldn't have to deal with your stupid complaints if you'd start being more careful!"

"What was that, Mosshead?"

"You heard me Curlicue"

"I am so gonna beat you till-

"WILL YOU TWO STOP ARGUING!" exclaimed Nami punching them both over the head, leaving nasty bumps behind

"Looks like scary Nami's back" whispered Usopp to Chopper who nodded his head a few times, worry etching his features

"I hope she doesn't hit them as hard as last time, I had never seen bigger bump's in my whole life! They were lucky they didn't have a concussion." Chopper whispered back

"Ah Nami-san, my sincerest apologies, you see this Meathead had almost made me drop the food I had prepared especially for you and Robin-chan" said Sanji being the first to get back up.

"HEY! What about me!What did you bring me, Sanji?" said Luffy stuffing a giant chicken leg into his mouth.

"NOT NOW LUFFY!" shouted Sanji and Nami in unison, shark teeth and all

"Witch…" murmured Zoro under his breath

"Bastard! How dare you call Nami-san such a degrading name!" said Sanji aiming a kick to Zoro's head again which was dodged at the last minute

"Ero-cook" said Zoro unsheathing two of his katanas

"STOP IT" Nami yelled hitting them over the head again causing smaller bumps to form on the already present bumps on their heads.

"B-but Nami-san-

"I don't want to hear it, both of you outside, NOW!"

"Hai Nami-san" said Sanji his visible eye turning into a heart. He exited the room throwing some of the floating hearts that he had caught from a basket that had come out of nowhere.

"Whatever" said Zoro heading out of the same door the cook had headed out of moments ago.

The door was shut behind them by one of Robin's hands.

*sigh* "Thank you, Robin" said Nami

"No problem, Navigator-san" said Robin, placing her dish into the sink and getting the nearby book with her Hana Hana powers. She started reading it.

~"*"~

"Shitty cook, look at what you got me into" said Zoro, sitting down on the ship's mast, stomach growling.

"Tsk, serves you right" said Sanji lighting a cigarette. He didn't mean it, it's not like he wouldn't give the swordsman some food later anyways but hey it's not like he was going to admit that to the Shitty swordsman.

"I'm gonna rip you up into a million little pieces" said Zoro his anger reaching its peak

Sanji took a long drag and let it out. "Not before I kick your ass into next week"

And with that they started fighting.

Three swords against two feet.

Leather against metal.

Neither could land a single blow on the other so they settled for swords and leather clashing, a low sound coming with every blow.

*crack*

/Hmm? Was that…/ "Oi, crap-cook, can you stop for a second?" asked Zoro fearing the worst for his precious sword.

"Why? Scared you'll lose?" asked Sanji landing another heavy blow which landed on the sword in Zoro's mouth.

*crack*

Zoro's eyes widened "Stop, stop! This is serious" he said trying to get away from the cook so he could see what was wrong with his sword

"In your dreams" said Sanji aiming another blow for his swords which Zoro managed to block with the ones in his hands

"I said stop!" said Zoro getting serious and almost slicing the cook's torso.

This was when Sanji finally realized something was wrong and stopped.

*crack*

"Shit" said Zoro, sheathing the two swords in his hands and taking Wado out of his mouth to inspect it.

There was a deep crack running from the bottom of the blade and stopping in the middle.

"Oi, what happened? What's wrong with your sword?" asked Sanji, getting a little worried that he had done something wrong and that he was the cause for the dark look crossing the swordsman's features.

Zoro was about to cry. He couldn't believe it. HIs precious sword, _Kuina's_ sword, had been damaged and now he couldn't use it in battle anymore unless he wanted it to shatter, which he most certainly did not want happen.

The crack in his sword was way too deep and long and couldn't be used anymore. How was he supposed to have Kuina's spirit help him in a battle now that the spirit had left through the crack? He didn't know but he knew he had let her down.

"OI! What happened, Shitty swordsman?" Sanji was getting more worried with every passing second, was he the cause for that look on the swordsman's face? If he was he would have to jump over the railing and die right there. The look the swordsman was giving was one Sanji had never seen on him, it was the look of sorrow and defeat.

Zoro looked up "You…." He stopped.

Was it Sanji's fault? No, he should've shaken the cook off the second he had heard the first crack.

"…Never mind" the swordsman finished the sentence he had left dangling and turns around to leave without sheathing Wado because if he does the next time he takes it out will be its last and he knows it.

When the swordsman turned around to head to God-knows-where, that's when Sanji saw the enormous crack on Zoro's white sword.

His eyes widened /What have I done? /

He had always known that Zoro's white sword was something that meant more to him than the other two, he didn't know why but it just did. And he had been the one to place that huge crack on Zoro's most treasured item because he had been too stubborn to stop when the swordsman had_ pleaded_ with him.

How much lower can a person go?

Zoro was now gone and the rest of the crew was heading out of the galley now that they had finished breakfast and that meant a large pile of dishes awaited Sanji in the galley.

"Hm, why do you look so glum?" Luffy asked Sanji, an innocent look on his features

Sanji was caught out of his trance. "Oh, it's nothing" he said throwing his spent cigarette overboard and lighting a new one.

~"*"~

/Damn it/ thought Sanji scrubbing the remaining pots. He had been washing dishes for the past hour. /I am never leaving those idiots alone in my kitchen with food again/

But the dishes were the least of his worries.

He hadn't seen Zoro ever since the incident and the guilt was eating him up alive.

/Goddamn it, the only way to fix my mistake is to sneak that sword away from him and get it fixed at the next island/ thought Sanji and with that final thought he finished washing the dishes in time to hear Usopp's cry:

"LAND HO"

Sanji smirked /Great timing/

He went out to deck to hear when they were going to get to the island.

"LUFFY! You're gonna fall into the ocean if you keep standing over the railing like that!" said Nami

"But Naaamiii, we've been out here for the past three weeks, I wanna go on an adventure" groaned Luffy still standing over the railing, looking out for the island.

"Falling into the ocean and drowning isn't gonna help you go on an adventure!" said Nami

*pout* "Fine"

"Miss Navigator-san, what kind of island are we heading towards?" asked Robin who was reading a book in the corner.

"Hm. Oh, it's called Gellu Island and it's said to have major blizzards during this time of the year" said Nami.

"When're we gonna get there?" asked Luffy excitedly

"We should be there in about three hours" said Nami

"Yosh! Usopp, Chooper let's play cards" said Luffy

"Ok!" said Usopp and Chopper in unison, Usopp setting the cards out on deck to play a game of bullshit.

/I have three hours to steal that sword from the meathead? Not bad, a challenge, but not bad/ thought Sanji heading back into the galley.

~"*"~

It had been two hours since Nami's announcement and Sanji still hadn't spotted the swordsman; this meant the damaged sword was either with Zoro or safely stored in the men's cabin.

Sanji was praying it was in the men's cabin because if it wasn't, he would most likely be skinned alive for getting within a ten-foot radius of the sword if it was with Zoro.

He peeked through the door to see, if by any chance, Zoro was in there taking a nap with his sword.

He wasn't

"Phew" sighed Sanji opening the door and stepping in looking around to see if the sword was anywhere in sight.

It was.

It was on Zoro's bed, just sitting there in plain view.

/This is a joke right? / thought Sanji, looking around in case he hadn't seen Zoro.

There was no sign of the man.

/Why the hell would he put it out in plain sight? I knew he was a little stupid but not this stupid. What if someone sat on it without noticing? It would be shattered! I'm doing him and this hunk of metal a favor/ thought Sanji, picking the sword up carefully.

After he wrapped the sword up in a near-by bed sheet, Sanji went out the door to the men's room and started heading towards the galley, where most likely (Luffy) no one would enter being that they had just had breakfast two hours ago.

Closing the door to the galley and locking it, Sanji then placed the sword on the dining table and took out a small piece of paper he had been keeping in his pocket since the beginning of his 'mission'. It read:

Take sword from the Shitty swordsman

Make some blacksmith from the island fix the Shitty swordsman's sword

Give the Shitty swordsman his now repaired sword back when I'm back on the ship and live happily and without guilt.

He checked off number one and stuffed the paper back into his pocket.

Now all he had to do was wait until-

"Adventure!" shouted Luffy

"Don't jump off the ship in this cold weather put a jacket on!" said Nami shivering slightly.

Luffy stopped in his tracks and blinked up at her.

One blink

Two

"It's cold out!" said Luffy holding onto his arms and shaking from the cold.

"So dense.." murmured Usopp

Or he could simply just head off the ship after he put on his winter jacket.

/This was way easier than I thought it would be/ thought Sanji walking into the men's room to put the winter jacket on, leaving Zoro's sword behind in the process.

~"*"~

Sanji was now ready to head out. He grabbed the bed sheet covered sword and headed out of the galley door.

He looked around once to see if the swordsman was anywhere around and didn't find any trace of him.

/Must be up in the crow's nest training/thought Sanji /Man, does he ever give it a break?/

And with that final thought he jumped off the ship's railing and onto a patch off snow heading out into the fog that surrounded the island.

Lucky for him no one had seen him head off since they had gone out to do whatever they had to do, Chopper staying behind to make a new medicine with Robin, who had started reading another new novel. Zoro would most likely be sitting this one out too.

~"*"~

/About time/ thought Sanji finally reaching town. He had been walking around in the fog for the past hour at least.

But he had finally made it now and to his surprise the town was in great shape despite all the ice and snow surrounding it.

/Finding a blacksmith will be a piece of cake/thought Sanji walking around town looking at the various signs to see if he could find the one labeled 'blacksmith'

He was just about to cross another road when he heard a too happy laugh heading towards him with three angrier sounding shouts aimed at the laugh also heading in his direction.

/Damn it, that must be Luffy/ thought Sanji running into a nearby alley blonde head sticking out to see if it actually was Luffy.

It was and hot on his tail were his precious Nami-san arguing with a butcher and Usopp walking a little ahead calling for Luffy to no avail.

"You eat it you pay" the butcher told Nami

"We'll get your money if he ate your meat!"Nami countered

"I don't believe you, you look like a no good thief to me" said the butcher crossing his arms and looking Nami straight in the eye

Nami was cornered /Damn it, I didn't ask for a smart butcher (**1**)/

They started heading further down the path and further out of Sanji's sight.

/Forgive me, Nami-san/ thought Sanji coming out of his hiding spot and heading down the opposite road Luffy and the other were running/walking down.

After a few more minutes of walking down that same path, sword still clutched in one hand, Sanji finally found the store labeled 'blacksmith' and entered it finding a burly man smacking a hammer down on the sword he was making.

"Excuse me, sir, but could you do me a favor and fix this sword?" asked Sanji, getting the sword out of the bed sheet and showing it to the blacksmith.

The man, turning around from his work, looked the sword up and down and then turned around to resume his work. "Sorry but after I'm done with this I have a family to celebrate the holiday with" he said in a hoarse voice.

Sanji pulled out two small sacks of belli from his coat pocket and showed them to the blacksmith "Are you willing to do it now?"

The blacksmith eyed the sacks in Sanji's hand for a few long moments and then reached a conclusion "Add one more sack and we've got a deal"

Sanji was not pleased with this but was determined to get back to the ship with the best Christmas present the swordsman would get in maybe his entire life, saying this because he had already gotten everybody a present and had been stuck on the swordsman's. He didn't want to make it the same as last year's: booze.

"Fine"

~"*"~

Zoro, meanwhile, was not doing so well

He had just finished his training for the day and was heading into the men's room to take a well-deserved shower and check on his and Kuina's sword.

When he got into the men's room he took a quick glance at his bed and continued walking towards the bathroom.

He stopped at the bathroom door and looked over his shoulder eyes wide with a look that could make the devil himself cry and plead for mercy.

His line of vision met his bed and nothing but his bed.

"Where is it?" he asked (more like demanded) the wind

He didn't expect a response from thin air but his demon like furry went up another notch when he didn't receive one.

"Where is it?" he demanded once again run walking to his bed, tearing the sheets off of it and looking around.

Nothing

He flipped his bed over to see if it was there

Nothing

Zoro gritted his teeth and commenced flipping the room upside down to look for his sword

Still nothing

"I'm. Going. To. Kill. The. One. Who. Took. My. Sword" said Zoro gritting his teeth to the point where any dentist would be very happy

~"*"~

"You're lucky this sword didn't shatter on your way here" said the blacksmith handing Sanji Zoro's now _fixed_ sword.

"Yeah, thanks for fixing it" said Sanji heading for the door, leaving the three small sacks of belli behind

"Wait. Before you go be wary of where you're heading, I can tell you're not from here and a blizzard is about to hit the southwest part of the island and if you were to walk into that thing you'd die in less than a minute, if that sword were to hit the blizzard it would crack and be beyond repair, no matter how good the blacksmith"

"Thanks for the information," said Sanji opening the door, letting a fierce wind in "I guess I should be going now"

And with that he left the blacksmith's shop and headed towards where the ship was.

~"*"~

"Nami~, I don't wanna go back yet! I didn't get to have any good adventures yet" groaned Luffy being hauled back to the ship with Nami's vice like force.

*mumble, mumble* "I don't care what you want *mumble* you lost me 150 belli with your meat rampage" said Nami

"I wouldn't fight with her if I were you Luffy, 'scary Nami' might come back and beat you to no tomorrow" Usopp whispered the last part but Nami still caught wind

"What did you say, Usopp-kun?" said Nami

"Uh, um, oh look the clouds are gathering" said Usopp pointing to the sky

"That's a stupid lie Usopp" stated Luffy

Nami looked up at the sky. Her eyebrows furrowed "He wasn't lying," said Nami "the clouds are moving around in a circle (**2**) that means a blizzard might be coming up and a bad one by the looks of it"

"Ah~ one of Captain Usopp's greatest adventures took place in the heart of a blizzard once. I was all alone out in the snow my 5,000 men-

"We should start heading back to the ship. Now."

/Why must I always be ignored/ thought Usopp fake tear making a waterfall down his cheeks

"But Nami~"

"When I say now, I mean it" said Nami dragging Luffy along with her by the ear

Too bad the fact he was made out of rubber was neglected.

*crash*

"LUFFY!"

"Ack" said Luffy getting out of the mess of shattered crates and running in the direction of the ship

"Wait for me!" shouted Usopp running after him, fearing the wrath of 'scary Nami'

~"*"~

"Buy two for the price of one!" shouted a nearby stand owner, selling various types of meats.

This caught Sanji's attention. Luffy had been going on midnight meat raids more often and they were running out of various types of meats.

But he also had to get back on the Merry before Zoro took the ship apart and put it back together to look for his sword.

/I do need more veal…/ thought Sanji changing his course and heading towards the stand

"Excuse me…"

He could wait an extra few minutes.

~"*"~

"Zoro, what are you doing?" asked Chopper watching the swordsman pick at one of the nails in the deck of the ship with his fingers, not wanting to damage another one of his swords.

Robin looked up from the book she was already half-way finished with "Swordsman-san looks as if he is trying to take the ship apart"

"I'm looking for something" said Zoro still staring intensely at the nail he was trying to pick out of the ship's deck.

"Ack! Zoro, don't take the ship apart you're gonna hurt your fingers!" exclaimed Chopper rushing over to the swordsman's side

"Don't care" said Zoro still trying to pick the nail out of the deck

"Captain-san and Sniper-san are here" Robin stated without looking up from her book

"Really?" asked Chopper, the statement stopping him from his failed attempt of moving Zoro away from the deck.

"Yes, Navigator-san seems to be chasing them" said Robin

Chopper ran to the railing and looked over it.

"Gomu Gomu no…."

/Oh no/ thought Usopp clinging onto to Luffy for dear life, 'scary Nami' right behind them

"ROCKET!"

"AHHHH!" screamed Chopper almost getting landed on by Usopp and Luffy. Luckily, they had landed a foot away from where Chopper was.

"Bastard!" shouted Chopper "You almost landed on me!"

"Sorry Chopper, you gotta understand" said Usopp in between breathes.

"WHERE IS HE?" asked Nami getting on deck, the darkest look a person could muster on her features

"AH! Scary Nami!" shouted Chopper running behind Robin's legs and hiding the wrong way

"WHERE IS HE! HE'S COST ME WAY TOO MANY BELLI TODAY!"

"Sorry, Nami" said Luffy with a small bow.

"Sorry's not enough you owe me 1,000 belli! Got it?"

"Yes…"

"Good, now what the hell are you DOING Zoro?" asked Nami turning to Zoro

"Taking the ship apart…"

…

…

"WHAT!" exclaimed Nami

Zoro was beginning to get really irritated with all the questions being thrown at him. Not only were they the same thing every time, they were being asked when Zoro was _trying _to concentrate on taking the ship apart to look for his sword. God, can't a man just simply take apart the ship he was sailing on to look for his personal belonging without so many interruptions and questions.

"Zoro! You can't take apart the ship! How are we gonna have adventures on a piece of floating wood?" asked Luffy

"This reminds me of the time when the Great Captain Usopp was sailing on his vessel, all five thousand men on board, when suddenly a giant sea king pops out of nowhere and attacks my ship. By the end of his attack we were left with less than half of our ship. But that wasn't enough to bring The Great Captain Usopp down! We kept on sailing for eighty days and nights until we finally reached an island and were attacked by a bunch of angry villagers, each holding their own pitchforks. I recall one of them eating cotton candy! He was the bravest and attacked me first but I took him down in less than three seconds and-

"So cool!" said Chopper listening to Usopp's story with wonder and awe, believing every word the sniper continued to say.

Something was missing

Something very important too

Luffy had caught wind of this when he couldn't smell the delicious aroma that was supposed to be coming out of the kitchen while Sanji was preparing lunch.

Wait a second

"NAMI! What time is it?" asked Luffy

Nami blinked up from her conversation with Robin about the latest fashions to Luffy "Um, it should be almost 1:00 p.m."

Luffy gaped at Nami like a fish "Why isn't Sanji back yet and cooking me meat! I'm hungry~"

"Curlicue's not back yet?" asked Zoro looking up from the almost out of its place nail. /That's weird, he's usually back before-/

Then it all fell into place

_Sanji _had been the one to take his precious item away from him. God knows what he could be doing with it now. He could have dropped it for all he knew. Why would he do that?

…..

Well maybe not dropped it but someone else could have bumped into him and he could have dropped it then!

…

You know what, screw it! Besides he might not have taken it at all and I (meaning Zoro) must be overreacting. I might have just thought I had put it on the bed and actually forgotten where I actually put it.

…

Nah

"Where is he?" asked Zoro malice dripping out of every word

This went unnoticed by the happy-go-lucky captain. So of course he would be the first one to answer him, not knowing of the growing feeling of rage radiating off of the swordsman.

"How am I supposed to know? But he should be here by now cooking lunch, more importantly meat, for me! He's never been this late!" said Luffy

"Cook-san might have found a new type of fruit or berry and might be running late checking its quality" suggested Robin, having just finished reading her novel, very pleased with the sad ending it had had.

"Still he wouldn't be late for lunch, something fishy might be going on over there…" said Nami

"I'll go get him" said Zoro already at the ship's railing. He had a score to settle with the damned Ero-cook.

"No, we can't get off the ship now a blizzard's coming up and a bad one too. You won't make it to town without getting hit by the blizzard and with your sense of direction I strongly recommend that you of all people don't go" said Nami

"Damn it..." muttered Zoro, he was desperate to get back to his sword (hopefully the shitty cook hadn't done anything that bad to it) but he couldn't get stuck in a blizzard, get lost, and freeze to death in his attempt. So the best thing to do was lay low for now and when the crap cook came back, Zoro would be sure to chop him up into a million pieces.

~"*"~

"Have a nice holiday" said the man, handing Sanji two bags filled with the goods he needed for the ship.

"Thank you, you too" responded Sanji taking the bag's from the kind man who had even lowered the prices for him for the holidays.

Now all Sanji had to do was head back to the ship and give Zoro his now repaired sword (which was fastened onto his belt while his two hands were holding onto the bags of goods)

He got the list out of his pocket and checked off number two, one more to go until this whole thing would be over.

And man was he glad it was almost over.

~"*"~

Why wasn't he back yet?

Nami had just announced that the blizzard was picking up and there was still no sign of Sanji.

So when staying outside was starting to be too unbearable the rest of the crew decided to go into the kitchen and watch for Sanji through the kitchen portholes.

While everyone else was either playing cards, looking out of the portholes or just drinking the hot chocolate Nami had made (which Zoro thought wasn't worth the amount she was making them pay for a mug).

Zoro had gone to the spot that had started this whole thing and fell asleep one last thing crossing his mind before he fell into the endless oblivion of dreams that was sleep:

/That idiot better have not done anything to my sword/

~"*"~

/So cold/ thought Sanji walking through the snow. A blizzard had started up and by the looks of it this must have been the blizzard the blacksmith had warned him about. It was getting harder and harder for him to walk through it since it was reaching his knees and the goods he was carrying weren't helping him out one bit.

That was the moment he heard the blacksmith's words ring in his head:

"_If that sword were to hit the blizzard it would crack and be beyond repair, no matter how good the blacksmith"_

He shot a quick glance to the bed sheet covered sword at his hip. What if the cold was already beginning to affect he sword? Then what would he do? Go back to the ship with the swrod's hilt, give it the swordsman and say "Sorry I took your sword, I was trying to fix it but ended up damaging it beyond repair

….

No, the cook cherished his life and wanted to find All Blue before he died and maybe even settle down with his Nami-swan while he was at it.

A sigh

"Goddamn it" murmured Sanji dropping the bags to the ground. It wasn't a total waste, when the blizzard was over animals would most likely come out and eat the things he was leaving behind, not caring about the condition the food was in.

He then grabbed the sword from his side with a shaking hand (he had failed to bring anything other than his winter jacket and Zoro's sword with him) and held it close to himself, looking like he was giving it a hug, in hopes of keeping the sword warm enough so it wouldn't crack and shatter into a thousand pieces and continued walking.

He was going to make it no matter what.

Sanji almost tripped over himself and almost landed face first into the snow. Quickly recuperating from almost falling into the snow, he kept walking into the never ending white. A new fear rising deep within his chest was quickly shoved to the back of his mind. Now was not the time to be scared about what might be lying ahead of him if he didn't get back to the ship quickly.

So he went with the only thing he could do,

keep going and make it back to the ship to give the shitty swordsman his sword back and check of the last thing on his list!

He was going to make it.

* * *

><p>(<strong>1)<strong> We all have that one butcher in our lives that doesn't understand a single thing you're and asks you to repeat it over and over until you're practically screaming and that leads you to think he is meantally retarded, right?

(**2**)I have no clue what clouds look like before a blizzard so excuusee me

Midnight: This took so long to write! PHEW, I would really like to get some feedback on this so if you don't mind:

Reviews= Love

And Love= cookies

You all want virtual cookies, don't you? .

TBC


	2. Chapter 2: A Rope and Some Hope

**Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, all rights reserved to their proper owners.**

.

.

O IOIOIOIOIOI O

Chapter 2

O IOIOIOIOIOI O

.

.

It had been over forty-five minutes and there still was still no sign of Sanji anywhere, though even if he were close to the ship no one would be able to see him due to the snow now having completely covered the portholes of the kitchen/meeting room.

By now, as the blizzard was at its strongest, the crew was beginning to worry (although barely any of them were showing it). Even the ex-pirate hunter Roronoa Zoro.

"Nami~! When is Sanji gonna come back and cook me something to eat?" asked Luffy.

Of course Luffy would be treating the situation at hand as lightly as possible, but what else could be expected from a pirate captain so carefree?

Nami, of course, was getting annoyed with the constant pestering about 'who will cook me food' and 'when is he coming back, I'm hungry~'. Of course Sanji had to leave them at the worst possible time, lunch, the time where an uncontrollable Luffy would emerge if not fed immediately. Deep down she hated him for that but if it weren't for the situation currently at hand she would definately charge him a fee!

...

Meh, she might charge him one the second he came back anyways, for making her have to deal with thier idiot rubber captain. It's not like he wouldn't oblige.

So for now she would have to put up with punching Luffy over the head until he shut up (which seemed to be working less and less nowadays)

Usopp, watching Nami trying to calm Luffy down the best way she knew, punching him over the head until a few bumps formed was, currently the only one who was showing his worries physically with Chopper. He could not grasp why almost nobody seemed to care about Sanji in his current situation. Of course he knew that this was the way the Straw Hat crew handled almost all of their situations, but wasn't this taking it a bit too far? The man was in a freakin blizzard for Christ's sake! This thought is what led to him speaking the sentence that the rest of the crew had on their minds:

"Do you think he's ok out there, I mean we haven't seen him yet and the blizzard is getting stronger so-

"What would make you think the Shit-cook wouldn't be ok?" asked Zoro still on the floor, arms crossed, due to the many failed attempts of trying to take a nap. Usually taking a nap would be a three second thing for Zoro like beating a marine, but the reason he couldn't get some shut eye was due to the worry secretly eating away at his knew Sanji could handle himself pretty well in most situations but now was one of those times he wasn't so sure about. Forty-five minutes of walking around in a blizzard could do things to a person, even ones as strong as himself and the Ero-cook.

"N-n-no I didn't mean that but-"

"What if cook-san isn't even navigating his way through the blizzard?" proposed Robin, drinking her second mug of coffee and saving Usopp from certain death courtesy of the ship's swordsman. She didn't even need to cast a glance to know Usopp was grateful that she saved him because the second she said this she could hear Usopp murmur "Thank you, Robin". She could also guess fat tears were running down the sniper's cheeks like waterfalls once she heard a pitter patter sound coming from the Going Merry's wood and had to fight back a chuckle to keep her cool, calm demeanor.

"What do you mean?" asked Chopper. Poor thing had been worried about his nakama ever since he heard the blizzard was picking up and he wasn't back yet. So, to kill time, he had been reading all the medical books he had, memorizing the details about how to deal with frostbite or hypothermia just in case he were to forget something and his friend needed his help.

"Well, he could've heard about the blizzard in town and decided to stay in an inn for the night. This island's townsfolk are well acquainted with dealing with blizzards like this, right Naviagtor-san?" said Robin turning her head in Nami's general direction and giving a small smile meant for the whole crew.

Catching Robin's glance, Nami put this into consideration."I guess so but there's always the possibility he could've wandered off into the blizzard." she said "Either way we can't be guessing whether or not Sanji-kun decided to go in the blizzard or stayed behind, he could be in danger right about now"

"She's right you know. It's already been almost an hour and if he's in the blizzard right now…." said Usopp,recovering from his little episode and leaving his sentence dangling and going into deep thought.

"Yosh!" said Luffy smacking his fist lightly into his other open palm "Let's go after Sanji!"

"Idiot!" says Nami slamming her fist to the side of Luffy's head, causing it to sling in the other direction and snap back into place "If we go in there now, we might not make it back!"

"Yosh!" said Luffy, a nasty bump now forming on the side of his head, "One of us can go out there and find him then"

A silence followed, this idea was seriously considered until the grin of the Cheshire cat made its way on Nami's face

"Luffy that must be the smartest thing you've said all day" said Nami

"Really? Shishishsi! I think I broke a record ne, Usopp?" said Luffy

A panicked look crossed Usopp's face and he quickly ran over to Luffy and covered his mouth with both his hands.

"Don't mention me Luffy, she might send me out there all alone" said Usopp, an image of him in his coat becoming a block of ice and freezing to death, failing to save both himself and Sanji.

"How would that work though, Nami?" asked Chopper, looking up at her with wide eyes "Wouldn't whoever we sent out get lost and freeze to death?"

"True but not if we sent them out there with rope" said Nami

"Rope?" questioned Zoro quietly, Nami didn't hear him though (a rare moment)

"rewe nmi hw wou e o nyin et pw?" asked Luffy

"What?"

Luffy bit the hands over his mouth causing Usopp to jump back from the pain radiating off of his now glowing red hands. "Luffy you jerk!" exclaimed Usopp putting his hands into his mouth, trying poorly to get rid of the pain.

"Ah! Doctor, doctor, we need a doctor!" said Chopper looking around frantically for a doctor

"You're the doctor, Doctor-san" said Robin smiling at the doctor's most common reaction to when someone was injured.

"Huh? Oh, right" said Chopper rubbing the back of his furry neck

"No problem Doctor-san" said Robin in a teasing tone "Sniper-san is in need of your astounding medical skills"

A small blush swept over Chopper's face "Asshole!" he exclaimed doing his little dance "Your compliments won't make me happy!" he said as he happily walked (with a slight dance) away to Usopp's direction to check on his wounds.

Now all attention was drawn back to what Luffy was saying

"So what were you saying, Captain-san?"

Luffy had to dwell on this for a few moments until he remembered what he was about to tell Nami. "Oh yeah, how is a piece of rope gonna help us find Sanji, Nami?"

Nami looked at Luffy as though he were an idiot, he still didn't get it?

Whatever, she could make herself clear enough for a someone as dense as Luffy or Zoro to understand her.

"If the rope's long enough and whomever we send out there is bundled up enough, we can send them out with the rope so they wouldn't get lost and maybe, if by any chance that Sanji is out there, find him"

"Oh~, that's a great idea Nami!" exclaimed Luffy clapping his sandled feet together.

"Who are we gonna send out though?" asked Usopp the image of him freezing to death finding its way back into his mind again.

"We can draw straws;" said Nami picking out a few straws and cutting some of them in different sizes for the 'game' "shortest straw loses"

And with that the straws were picked and the loser was…

Nothing

He still couldn't see the silhouette of the ship anywhere and if he had had a chance before it was long gone now.

But still, he kept walking through the frozen wasteland; he must be getting close now, right? It had been God knows how long, the ship must be close, right?

….Right?

These questions were left unanswered as Sanji kept walking through the snow, his winter jacket now wrapped around the sword instead of himself , the piece of long metal still being held with whatever strength Sanji had left in his arms to his chest, the sword that he had gone through so much to keep safe and warm for that Marimo-head.

/He better be pretty damn grateful when I get back/ thought Sanji walking aimlessly through the snow.

If he didn't have any idea where he was going before he certainly had no clue where he was now. He might even have ended up heading in the opposite direction he had meant to go to. He could be heading back to the village for all he knew!

/No/ thought Sanji /I must be getting close now, I must. /

The snow was now starting to blur his vision more than it had in the past hour or so. He tried wiping the snow away with one of his hands but that only seemed to blur his vision even more. Maybe it wasn't snow. Maybe it was the sweet thought of drifting off into a sleep he might not ever awaken from again blurring his vision.

A weak groan.

This had to be the worst Christmas he had ever experienced, but Sanji wouldn't dare think or speak of that in case the bad luck that always seemed to maul at his side decided to call Mother Nature and make things worse for him.

He was already shaking like a dog taken out of cold water and he swore he could see his hands turning a sick shade of blue from whatever vision the snow/unconsciousness had spared him. This was a bad sign. Blue hands could mean blue lips and blue lips could mean he would be walking hand-in-hand with death at any moment if someone didn't find him soon.

/Shit/ thought Sanji the darkness he had been trying to fight back for the longest of time starting to come over him, he could feel himself falling face first in the snow before he lost control of his senses fully.

/He better be damned happy/ was the final thought that crossed his mind before the offending darkness swept over him like a wave and his eyelids fluttered closed for what could be the last time.

Sanji's life was now in faith's hands.

"Come back with Sanji-kun, Zoro!" said Nami waving a hand at him. The rest of the crew was currently standing on the Merry's deck, bundled up well, to watch Zoro go.

/Damned witch, / thought Zoro. Of course his straw would be the shortest, what were the odds of that! /she must have switched them somehow…/

So now wearing two pairs of wool gloves, a wool snowboarding hat with earmuffs, two scarves around his neck, a sweater and Luffy's and his winter coats, and a pair of sturdy boots (courtesy of Usopp) Zoro was now ready to set off into the blizzard to (maybe) find the Ero-cook.

"We're counting on you, Zoro!" were Luffy's words before he stretched his right hand, which was holding the longest piece of rope the ship had at the moment, (and that was some pretty long rope) to Zoro. The other end was tied to the ship's railing so the rope wouldn't get caried away by the strong winds, "Don't disappoint!"

"Yeah, Yeah" mumbled Zoro taking the rope from Luffy's hand which stretched back to its owner almost immediately.

To tell the truth, Zoro wasn't really up to heading out into the blizzard. Yes, he wanted to get his sword back as soon as possible because he was almost a hundred percent sure Curlicue had it with him but he had one of the worst of feelings telling him "Don't go out there you don't know what you're getting yourself into." Of course the nagging voice of this statement was Nami's. Whenever Zoro had a bad feeling her voice wouldn't stop nagging him no matter how hard he ended up hitting his head to the wall to make it shut up, this of course irked (**1**) him to no end.

But setting that aside he started heading out into the blizzard from where it looked the strongest. Chances were if the cook were really walking in the blizzard right now, he would be in the strongest part of it. Judging this from the shitty cook's luck which he, on many occasions, had seen it work its magic.

And in a few moments the remaining five of the Straw Hat crew watched their swordsman disappear into the flurry of white, leaving behind a trail of dark brown colored rope.

/Even he can't mess this up/ thought Usopp heading back inside to warm up again with his other crewmates.

~"*"~

I know this is a pretty stupid note but c'mon let's be truthful now who doesn't like saying the word 'irk' or 'irked' a million times over =)

A/N- Sorry this is WAY shorter than the last chapter (and wayyy to short for my own likes)! I had more written for it but I just really wanted to end it here and I don't have any idea how I waited almost a month to get back on track with this story *sharp intake of breath*. So, forgive me?

**A BIG THANK YOU to all of those who have taken the time to read and review this!**

Now I'm not making any promises (I suck at keeping them) but I might update soon.

Always remember:

Reviews=love

And Love=Pie

And who would give up on pie?

Edit: And one more thing this story has like 2 more chapters left to go and they WILL b shorter, maybe not as short as this one though.

TBC


	3. Chapter 3:Hallucinations

**Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, all rights reserved to their proper owners.**

** ~.~**

OIOIOIOIOIOIO

Chapter 3

OIOIOIOIOIOIO

~.~

A light at the end of the dark path.

What was it? Was it a way out of this dark oblivion?

Was he _dead?_

Sanji didn't know, but he definitely knew it had to be something. So he went through it only to be greeted by a piercing cold and a fit of coughs.

He tried to open his eyes but it proved to be no easy task as they felt like two tons weighing his eyelids down. But after a few failed attempts, he finally got them to open a slither.

Then he remembered where he was and why he was laying on his side and why he was feeling a cold he had never felt before. He was still stuck in the blizzard that still did not seem to be letting down. The sword was still wrapped in his winter coat and in his arms which he couldn't move at all, along with the rest of his body and he was still fighting for his life all because of a stupid, everyday fight he had had with the marimo.

He grinned (or at least tried to).

A stupid fight. That was why he was in this position, weakly clutching onto a piece of metal. It was ironic really.

He had always thought he would die in a fierce fight, looking heroic and strong for the ladies and trying to reassure the rest in his own little way. Not from wandering into a blizzard with a sword after he was warned about an upcoming blizzard by a blacksmith.

But fate was cruel.

Then again what could he expect? He was a pirate after all, maybe he deserved this.

His weak grin quickly disappeared as he heard a crunch in the snow a little far off on his left, the side he was facing away from.

'A savior?' he thought meekly .He tried to turn his body around to face the other side, but if he couldn't move his arms he certainly couldn't do a task of such magnitude. So he decided to stay put after his sore muscles gave a strong protest to his efforts.

All he could do now was stay awake and hope it was someone from his crew, even that moss-head would suffice.

'Man it's cold out here' thought Zoro. Despite all the layers of clothing he was wearing at the moment, he could still feel the cold biting into his bones. He was also having a hard time walking through the knee-deep snow so; he was just walking aimlessly now.

He wasn't even sure if he could get back to the ship if he were to ever find that damned Ero-cook out here somewhere because he had completely lost sight of the rope he might not even be holding onto due to the cold starting to affect the feeling in his hands.

So to make sure the rope was still in his hands he balled his fist and gave a sharp tug. With this tug he heard the low thud of snow falling to the already snow covered ground and he was immediately reassured that, Ero-cook or not, he could at least find his way back to the ship.

So he kept walking for another minute or so and was struck with the sudden thought that the Ero-cook must not be here at all. Zoro let out his breath which came out as a white fog that quickly evaporated into the cold air. He was so pissed!

So pissed that he'd left the safety of the ship for the cook, who must be in a warm and cozy inn back in town trying to woo some random girl while he was out here freezing his ass off trying to find absolutely nothing!

No matter how much he wanted to just head back now, he knew that if the cook was really out here (which he strongly doubted) and he came back empty handed, he would never be able to look anyone- especially his captain- in the eye ever again.

So he kept going until he tripped over something in the snow and fell flat on his face into the snow.

"Damn it!" he exclaimed, getting back up to his feet and looking behind him to see what he had tripped over. His eyes widened as he saw what was lying there behind him.

It was a blue-lipped, snow-covered Sanji.

Time seemed to freeze as he saw the cook lying there eyes opened a slither, clearly unfocused, with his breath coming out in quick, short gasps, looking more dead than alive.

The swordsman made his grip on the piece of rope he was holding onto in his left hand tighter.

Seeing the sight made his blood boil, really. The cook had never been one of his favorite crewmates but that didn't mean he wasn't just as important to him as the rest of his crew, he was second in command after all.

But what really got him was when he recognized what the cook was holding onto with a death-grip to his chest.

It was a bed sheet-covered Wado.

Did that mean….?

"Oi! Ero-cook!" said Zoro with a small hint of franticness in his voice as he went down to his knees and started shaking the cook quite roughly. Maybe not the best way to wake a person in Sanji's condition up, but he had to do it somehow. No reaction, the cook's eyes were still glazed over and the grip on his sword only got tighter, unconsciously. He was really intent on keeping the swordsman's sword safe, but why? From as far as Zoro could remember, he had given nothing to the cook but insults and constant fight on a daily basis and had received nothing but insults and constant fights in return. He was not going to count the 3 meals a day he received every day from the Dartboard because it was his job to do so and therefore, clearly, did not count.

Now starting to get too worried for his own comfort (although he would never admit it), he slapped the cook across the face in hopes to get a reaction this time.

He did.

As the cook's face snapped to the other side from the impact of the slap, his eyes blinked three times and became more focused and after a few seconds of recovery, he turned his head shakily to face his offender/savior.

"Z-z-zor-ro?" asked Sanji, as if unsure if it was really the piece of moss he could not approach unless he wanted a fight to start in less than two minutes, three tops.

"Yeah?" he said, not really sure what else to say in a situation such as this.

"T-t-t-the s-s-wor-rd" he stuttered the two words so much Zoro had almost not caught onto what he had said, but he had. He stared at the blanket-covered sword in the cook's arm for what seemed like forever (although it was only a second). Oh, how he longed to see its condition!

But there were more serious things to attend to as he noticed the cook starting to drift off again. He gave him a rough shake on the shoulder to rouse him, which it did.

"C'mon Swirly brows, let's get you back to the Merry and to Chopper."

And after some struggling, he finally got the cook on his back piggyback style, the sword into his mouth, and the rope gripped in his left hand as his other hand held the cook on his back. He had also managed to get the one of his two jackets onto the cook.

"Still awake, Cheese head?" he asked when he was ready to start his mini-journey back to the ship, back to safety.

" S-shit-t-y-y M-mos-s" were the two words Zoro got in response.

But that was all he needed.

"Ne Usopp, I think you cheated" stated Luffy

"I did not! That three was there from the start!" exclaimed Usopp, trying to defend himself. Luffy and he were currently in the midst of their fifth round of bullshit and so far, since the very first round, Luffy wouldn't stop saying that he, the Great Captain Usopp, had cheated. One as great as him did not need any reason to cheat! Unless, you know, he was losing terribly due to Luffy's insane luck in everything.

"Hmmm…No, you cheated" said Luffy

An exasperated sigh.

"Forget it," said Usopp laying his cards down flat on the table, "and for the record I did not cheat!"

"I won again?" asked Luffy, now grinning widely at Usopp

"No, you did not!" exclaimed Usopp "I just didn't want to play anymore"

"So you gave up?"

This irritated Usopp. He was no coward! He was the Great Captain of the Seas, Captain-

"Wanna play again?" asked Luffy

Usopp started shuffling the cards, they were on their sixth round and six was his lucky number, there was no chance Luffy could beat him now!

"A pair of six's" said Usopp laying two cards, one a two of clubs and the other an ace diamonds, on top of their mini pile where there supposedly lay a seven.

"Bullshit" Luffy stated almost immediately

A sweat drop.

So much for the six.

It'd been six minutes since they'd started their journey back to the ship and to keep Sanji from falling into a dangerous state of sleep, Zoro tried to start a conversation with him.

It didn't turn out as well as planned. Every time he tried to start a conversation/to be argument with the cook, he would either slur out an unintelligible response or say nothing at all and continue shivering.

What Sanji said after about 7 minutes of semi-awkward silence, however, was a shocker.

He started talking about seeing the All Blue in this flurry of white.

"What are you talking about?" asked Zoro

"C-can't-t y-you see it-t?" Sanji answered back, a slur affecting every word he uttered.

"I don't see anything"

"I-it's r-right-t t-there"

"What?"

"A-all Blu-ue"

Zoro froze for a moment or so before he commenced walking. All Blue? Is the cook hallucinating? He had to be, or else he was, because there was no 'All Blue' in sight.

"Cook, you feeling ok?"

"G-great!" Sanji said in a kind of sing-song voice

No.

Sanji does not _sing._ He only hums occasionally when he's cooking and in a good mood. Not in a blizzard. Not in the freezing cold where he was trying to get himself and the cook back to ship.

Something was clearly wrong with him.

"What do you see?"

A brief pause passed, and in that pause Zoro was pretty sure Sanji had given him a funny look as if he were the one hallucinating.

"A-are you s-stup-pid? I-it's r-right there-e, y-you know, A-all B-blue" Sanji said, pointing a shaky finger in the direction of-well- nothing.

"Shit" said Zoro starting to pick up his pace. This had to be a bad sign. Was the cook dying on him? He better not be, Luffy would never forgive him if he lost their food supplier.

Then he felt a light weight bump into his shoulder.

"Cook?"

No response. Sanji had fainted.

"Damn it"

"Robin?"

"Yes, Doctor-san" she responded sipping her mug of coffee. She had given reading a rest for now and was just drinking coffee in the kitchen, amusing herself by watching Luffy and Usopp playing cards.

"Do you think Zoro found Sanji?" Chopper had been worried about the two ever since he had received news of the blizzard. Especially about the condition Sanji might be in if he really was in the blizzard. What if he had frostbite or hypothermia? Being a doctor these were one of his biggest concerns, the health of his nakama. The only people that had ever accepted him for who he was.

Robin, seeing the evident worry on their doctor's face, gave a small smile and said, "Don't worry Doctor-san, by now Swordsman-san must be coming back with Cook-san in tow"

This made Chopper feel a little better. Maybe Robin was right. "Thanks"

"Not a problem, Doctor-san" Robin said, the small grin still on her lips. She went back to sipping her coffee and looking out the small kitchen porthole.

She believed everything would turn out for the better.

Finally.

The silhouette of the ship was finally in view and he was finally almost there. Almost there to safety. Almost there, to a doctor who could help the cook.

Sanji hadn't stirred since he had last passed out, claiming he had seen the All Blue.

Now on the ship Zoro went to the kitchen dooradn gave a small knock with the hand that had been holding his guide, the rope.

*knock, knock*

* * *

><p>AN: Nice to see you all again, dear readers! Sorry to have been gone for such a long period of time. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and if I am correct, next chapter should be the last which I hope to have up sooner.

**Hugs to all those who take the time to read and review ^^ I really appreciate it!**

TBC


	4. Chapter 4: Arrival

**Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, all rights reserved to their proper owners. **

**.**

**.**

OIOIOIOIOIOIO

Chapter 4

OIOIOIOIOIOIO

.

.

- 3 minutes prior –

"Oi, Nami, what're you workin' on?" asked a very curious Luffy. After his and Usopp's sixth match of bullshit, he had gotten pretty tired of beating Usopp so easily and instead went on to find something else to do. This led him to finding Nami working on one of her maps in a secluded area of the kitchen, that spot being the space right next to a giant barrel of flour they had picked up on the previous island.

Luffy, having been able to have found her 'somewhat quiet sanctuary', (as she liked to call it) annoyed Nami a bit.

The reason being that making maps was a hard job that required all of one person's concentration; Luffy being there would most likely make her mess up on the map which would lead to a waste of paper and supplies and a waste of her time and effort.

"I'm working on the map to the previous island," she said putting the quill and ink as far away from Luffy's reach as possible, "what do you want, captain?"

"I'm bored!" a low growl "And hungry" said Luffy. He never knew how boring the kitchen actually was without Sanji trying to kick him out after one of his failed attempts at a food raid or how empty it was without Sanji cooking him a giant meal. Zoro was also an aim for his, Chopper's, and Usopp's 'foolish pranks' as Nami and the rest have always called them. Everything else he, Chopper, and Usopp did involved being outside and that was already automatically off the list of things to do since they were trapped inside.

"What do you want me to do about that?" asked Nami with an edge of an irritation in her voice. Of course their captain was too foolish to notice this edge and kept approaching dangerous waters blindly.

"Come play with me~"

"No, absolutely not, I have a map to work on right now so if you don't mind..."

"But Namiii! There's nothing else to do and you never play with me!" said Luffy with a slight pout.

"That's because I'm busy, maybe I'll play with you later" she said, trying to convince Luffy to go and bother someone else while she worked on the rest of her map.

Just as Luffy was about to say something of protest to Nami, two knocks were heard at the door to the galley.

*knock, knock*

"Ah! Who is it, who is it?" asked Chopper in frightened curiosity. After his small conversation with Robin he hadn't been doing anything really, just giving the few books he had recently brought in from the infirmary a quick skim, making sure to know everything he might need to know for when Zoro came back, hopefully, with Sanji.

"Do you think it's Zoro and Sanji?" asked Usopp, who had been making one of the most magnificent castle of cards on the kitchen table.

The second he heard those words come out of Usopp's mouth, Luffy was already rushing to door, happy that Zoro was finally back with Sanji in tow. This would call for a party and everything! Best part of all he could get some meat into his stomach now that Sanji was back! He couldn't help but drool at the thought of what types of meat would be scattered around over the table when Sanji started cooking for the party. There would be pork, veal-

"Zoro! Did you-

Now, before we proceed with the events that come after the opening of the door, we must remember that the thought of Zoro carrying Sanji piggyback style had never occurred to Luffy as over eighty percent **(1)** of his thoughts consisted of food-mostly meat. The reader must also remember that Luffy is extremely bored at the moment and anything that looks fun related will instantly make the twenty percent of his brain think Zoro and Sanji were having fun outside. Thank you for your time we will now continue with the chapter.

"…Were you playing outside?" asked Luffy

Zoro never answered the question as Chopper scurried over the door curious as to why _Zoro _of all people would be playing with _Sanji_ out in a blizzard.

Once he got to the open door and saw Zoro, he gasped.

"Zoro, what happened out there?" asked Chopper, concern and worry lacing his voice. Never in his whole time knowing the swordsman had he ever seen such a serious expression on his face.

_Today a man did something of a great magnitude for me, now I have nothing to say other than I am embarrassed to have ever done him wrong._

"Chopper..," said Zoro, his seriousness never faltering, "fix him"

Although what he said was simple, once Zoro's words sinked in and he noticed the unconscious head of Sanji resting on Zoro's shoulder he understood.

"Robin, can you start a hot bath in the bathroom for me? I'll be in there after I've finished checking Sanji's condition."

Without a word, she headed for the bathroom.

-oOo-

Approximately fifty minutes ago, he had set out to find the cook after losing the 'longest straw' contest. Approximately thirty minutes ago, he had found the cook lying in the snow on his side. Approximately fifteen minutes ago he had arrived at the Merry. Approximately one minute ago Chopper had given the crew his analysis on the cook's condition.

And after approximately one hour and thirty-five minutes, Zoro still couldn't get over the fact that Sanji had done this for him. Not 'Nami-swan' or 'Robin-chwan 'but _him_, Roronoa Zoro.

Four minutes ago, Chopper had stated that Sanji had profound hypothermia and would need someone to watch over him and make sure he kept warm and didn't start hallucinating, again. Zoro, knowing he owed the cook this and more, had volunteered first.

This is what led him to sitting on a chair next to a sleeping cook, staring at the still-bed-sheet- clad Wado lying right next to the cook.

_No matter what I do to repay him, it doesn't seem enough._

He was brought out of his trance when he heard the door to the infirmary open.

"Swordsman-san, would you like some soup?" asked Robin from the door. Since Sanji was out and everyone else had absolutely no idea how to cook, Nami and Robin had taken over for the time being.

"No, it's fine"

"Are you worried about Cook-san, Swordsman-san?" asked Robin after a few milliseconds of silence

Usually, a question such as this would make Zoro go on the defensive and ask 'Why the hell would I would be worried about a shitty-cook?' but now that didn't seem right and neither did caring for the cook to such an extent, it's not like he was his mother. In the end, he honestly didn't know how he felt about the cook right now.

Knowing she would get no response from the swordsman she left to go and prepare the soup with Nami's help, a small smile on her face.

_What can I ever do to show this man my appreciation?_

And with a frustrated sigh, Zoro realized that to make it up to the cook he would first have to talk to him about it and find out exactly why he had gone through so much to fix Wado for him.

This would be no easy task.

* * *

><p><strong>AN**: I am so mean to all of you, giving you another short chapter :P It's funny how my creative juices take a month to make their minds up on what to do next. But I do know that this chapter is not the end (I know, I suck at planning XD ).Honestly, I don't really know when this story's going to end anymore. Meh, either way can you tell me how this chapter came out? I am seriously considering to re-write the chapter, but I'm not sure if I should, sooo:

**Review ^_^**

**And a big thank you to does that do review!**

TBC


	5. Chapter 5: The Lifestream

**Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, all rights reserved to their proper owners.**

* * *

><p><strong>.<br>**

**::**_**Chapter 5**_**::**

**.  
><strong>

* * *

><p>The concept of death was something very difficult to grasp indeed.<p>

It didn't work alone though. Like every oppressing force it had time on its side and time is something that is always against you, no matter what anyone claims. Time destroys everything in the end, makes you waste away until you're nothing but a memory. Then again, with time memories age and are pushed away to the darker recesses of the mind until they are completely forgotten. When you are young, at the peak of your beauty and strength, you can only go downhill from there.

It ruins you.

It ruins everyone _**around**_ you. It will make you old and gnarled over until you can barely move, wasting away at your body and mind until there's nothing left.

It was so very pessimistic but true nonetheless.

_**Ero-cook…**_

"Merry Christmas, dumbass" said Zoro placing the still blanket clad Wado down at the cook's side, getting up off the chair he'd been sitting on for the past couple of hours to get some sleep.

It was his way of biding good night, as time continued to waste away, as time continued to eat away at the cook's life. Three days past the day of the incident, and his health only seemed to be deteriorating. It was only hypothermia god damn it, the cook should-scratch that- _**is**_ stronger than this.

So why was this illness taking him down?

Time, Zoro decided, was something he truly despised. But he be damned if it were to take away someone else whom he held dear.

_**Tick, Tock, Tick, Tock**_

There's light, so much light, light everywhere. The light hurts, burns even, making my head throb with pain. It's so utterly _**bright**_ that I can't look away, but as it slowly begins to dim down, I begin to take in my surroundings only to find that I am in a snow white area completely void of anything except for a few messily drawn pictures hanging on the wall.

So where was that bothersome noise coming from?

_**Psst, over here…**_

I quickly turn around to be greeted with the sight of a small, round clock hanging off the wall on my far left. What was that doing there? It certainly hadn't been there before.

_**TickTockTickTockTickTock.**_

The clock, I see, is not a clock at all. In fact, I haven't the slightest clue as to what it might be. Although it makes the right noise, it is missing crucial parts a clock needs to, well, be a clock. For starters it doesn't have any numbers, nor does it have the two hands that accompany the numbers. It was as bare as the rest of this godforsaken area!

"Won't you join me for some tea?"

The ticking device being momentarily forgotten, I look over my shoulder and am greeted with the sight of a hare-a very deranged looking one might I add- hopping towards me with two fine-china cups and teapot in its thin hands. Although its general appearance seems rather shabby and rabid, it is dressed in a red dress shirt, navy dress coat, and a coal black tie.

_**Ying and Yang, white and black, you've gone insane and can't go back.**_

"Quickly, quickly! It will get cold if you don't hurry!" The hare exclaimed shifting his eyes left and right, as if he were running away from something.

"Where am I, hare and who are you?

There was a brief moment of silence as the hare stopped in its tracks, teapot and cups disappearing in a breath of smoke. "Where are my manners? Let me introduce myself, I am a hare as you can plainly see, I go by the name Harrington, you may call me hare. I shall be your guidance during your stay in the dreamscape." The hare finished with a quick bow.

"Lifestream?"

"Otherwise known as the location souls such as yours stay until they either move on or return to their bodies of course!" the hare stated clapping his hands together "I assure you, you shall have a marvelous time during you stay. Would you like some tea?" The hare asked the fine china from before being offered towards me, filled up to the brim with tea. "Would you like some sugar, or perhaps some milk, a lemon slice…"

I sigh and rub my forehead, feeling a headache beginning to come on. Only a few minutes in and I've already met a ridiculous person. Perhaps said ridiculous person could help me get out of here? It was worth a shot.

"…or maybe you'd like it plain, there are many people who take it that way, mostly the diabetic, although I myself am not a personal fan…"

"Look, hare, I really need to be getting back home now. Can you be so kind as to show me how to get out of here?"

The hare stopped in its rant to look up at me, as I had a clear advantage in height, a slight dazed look crossing its features. Maybe I had shattered something in its already broken mind. I considered walking away and finding the exit myself, until it burst into a strong bout of laughter.

"Foolish child, you are not permitted to leave here until the time is right. Up until that point, I urge you to enjoy your stay. How many times must I repeat this, hm?"

That managed to completely irritate me. "I am not a child, shitty hare, if you will not help me I will find the exit myself." I said, walking off in the hare's opposite direction.

"Very well child," said the hare, "when it's time to go, I'll drop in on you again, until then I bid you good luck!"

'**Jesus fucking Christ, I am getting nowhere.' **

Walking through this never ending expanse of white was proving to do more harm than good. I was beginning to get tired of walking and more curious of those messy, hand drawn pictures hanging off the wall. I had already noticed that they are all depictions of all of our adventures in the Grand Line and East Blue, starting with the Baratie and going on to Nami-san's village, Rouge Town, Whiskey Peak, and so on. When I had tried to take one of the more indecipherable pictures off the wall, my mind was flooded with all my memories of the time we spent on Drum Island. I couldn't just see what was happening, I felt it too, the adrenaline from being chased by those rabbit monsters, the crushing sensation of being taken down by an avalanche, trying to protect Nami-san and Luffy, all of it.

All in all this 'Lifestream' was one creepy-ass place that only got creepier as another picture hung itself on the wall, right next to a crudely drawn picture of Skypeia. This one was a lot clearer than the rest, and also much plainer than the rest. It showed a white handled sword, a long scissure running along the length of the blade….

Wait a minute.

It was that shitty swordsman's sword! I had all but forgotten about that thing!

I almost tore the drawing in two getting it off the wall and quickly regretted my actions after I was overcome with the memories of recent events. I remembered giving the blacksmith the sword, the freezing temperatures of the blizzard, losing consciousness in the middle of that thing, it was too much.

"Careful with that!"

As suddenly as those horrible, superfluous memories and sensations had come they were taken away by a slim, white haired hand.

"If these images are so much as torn at the edges, the results would be disastrous. Young child, please be more careful with them!"

"Shitty hare, what are you doing here? What are those things?" I asked. Those drawings clearly meant more than meets the eye. The sensations that were coursing through my body moments ago were so realistic; they felt almost lifelike, like I was re-living the experience again over and over.

"These drawings are your memories, child. With every new adventure you take, the lifestream immediately illustrates them. If they are so much as ripped at the edges the results would be partial or total amnesia of that specific event. Do you understand?"

Jesus Christ! Amnesia? For so much as tearing a piece of paper with some scrawl on it? "For such a void place this lifestream is much more complicated than I thought."

"You learn to get used to it. All other things aside, I bring good news. You may now leave the lifestream and go back to your body." said the hare, "Though I must say you are very lucky, some god must favor you young one, judging by the condition your human body was in, I would have never guessed you would make it."

Might have not made it? I don't even want to think about that.

"Well, goodbye, I hope you enjoyed your stay."

That blasted hare grinned and everything was plunged into darkness

….nji…?

I heard someone calling my name from somewhere far, far away, and a slight pressure squeezing my hand. Exerting most of my willpower, I managed to open his eyes just a bit, allowing light to flood into my dark world.

"Sanji!"

* * *

><p>"<em>Happily Ever After?"<em>

As if.

Things would never be that easy.

"Zoro?"

Two weeks, you would expect everything to be fine but we still had that whole "confrontation" thing to go through.

"What do you want?"

Man, had it been the most dreaded thought of the week.

"Just wanted to know how that shitty piece of metal is holding out" I asked, placing a plate of rice next to him. That was another thing he'd been doing, ignoring me in every way possible for the last two weeks.

"Fine" he answered picking up the rice bowl, still keeping on that permanent stoic mask of his.

Neither of us said anything, seconds ticked by but we had nothing to say. We both knew how ridiculous this whole thing was starting to become and we both knew what a crappy job we were doing trying to hide how much we were ignoring each other from the crew.

"Why did you do it?" he asked, finally breaking the silence.

"What?"

"Why? Why did you fix _**my**_ problem? You could've gotten yourself killed shit-cook" he said. He didn't even have to turn around, the anger was clear enough in his voice. Anger directed towards me. Anger directed towards me because he didn't think it was my responsibility.

Typical.

"We're nakama you numbskull, part of being a nakama is watching over each other's backs, remember?"

He huffed. He knew what I said had been true; he just didn't want to admit it.

"Listen to me, for the sake of the crew and our sanities just forget this ever happened, agreed?" I offered. Somehow I got the feeling this wasn't the only time this "sacrificial" nonsense would happen.

"Agreed" he said after a while.

That was that, what did I you, Happily Ever Afters only happen in fairytales after all.

* * *

><p><em><strong>-Step 3: Give the Shitty Swordsman his sword back and live happily<strong>_

_**No check.**_

* * *

><p>AN: See I'm not totally dead? I'm not even sure that should count as an excuse anymore : Anyways I'm pretty sure you all want to hold me at gunpoint for keeping you waiting sooooooo long, but you can't say I didn't finish.

On another note, I have no idea when I'll put up my next work but it'll either be Kingdom Hearts (my new infatuation) or an Usopp story.

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this story as much as I did. Forgive me for any OOC-ness in this chapter/ lack of being even remotely fine towards the end, I have been completely One Piece deprived for the past month or two O.o.

Adios~

P.S. This chapter is dedicated to the following:

_**Alice and Wonderland (older version) for giving me the idea for Harrington (btw, I'd like to know how many of you liked him :)**_

_**and Final Fantasy X's track, "Return to Zanarkand" for getting me back on track with this story (somehow)  
><strong>_

_****_Edit: My summer note has been removed to provide more comfort for the readers, chapter title have also been added.


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